14 Words by Email

Friday, 7 September 2012

BY DUSTIN HURST
Politico recently wrote that Montana
Governor. Brian Schweitzer’s rhetorical prowess is a valuable asset and
a dangerous liability for his future political ambitions.

Case in point: On July 28, Schweitzer delivered the keynote address
at the Ohio Democratic Party’s annual dinner. In the speech, he told a
gripping tale of his grandmother immi-grating to the United States to
start a new life.
Riveting.

In the same address, Schweitzer dipped into darker
rhetoric, casting white Montanans as racist toward American Indians.
Through his 30-minute speech to Ohio Democrats,
Schweitzer repeatedly boasted of his gubernatorial achievements,
putting special emphasis on the Indian Education for All project.
Schweitzer spearheaded the program, which requires Montana school
children to learn both American-Indian and U.S. history.

Why did Schweitzer shepherd the innovative and
groundbreaking program? Well, because many Montanans are white, racist
rednecks—the governor’s words.

“All over Montana, you can walk into a bar, a café or even a school or a
courthouse and just listen for a while as people talk to each
other,” Schweitzer explained, shortly after noting 93 percent of his
state’s population is classified as Caucasian. “And you will hear
somebody, before very long, say something outrageously racist about the
people who’ve lived in Montana for 10,000 years.”

The video was posted at the website Plunderbund, was
blocked from public viewing, but has since been restored.
Having labeled a broad swath of Montanans as
irreparably racist, the governor said he delivered the educational
program to sway the minds and hearts of Treasure State youngsters. “…I
decided I can’t turn the heart of a 45-year-old redneck,” Schweitzer
said.

Schweitzer’s speech was a stunning rhetorical
reversal from his stance during an April trip to New York City,
including an appearance on David Letterman, to promote Montana as a
paradise for tourists.

“Best place in the world to take your family,” Schweitzer said of his
home state during a stop in Times Square to hand out Montana jerky and
jam.

Schweitzer visited New York to promote a new direct flight from New
Jersey to Bozeman. “With this new direct flight, we’re giving our
friends from the New York area convenient access to the most spectacular
places and experiences they will encounter in the lower 48
states,” Schweitzer said in a news release. “And we’ll deliver it with
our customary Western hospitality.”

The governor’s Ohio remarks makes one wonder, though, if he should have
alerted New Yorkers about Montanans, rather than espouse Western
hospitality.

Also noteworthy is Schweitzer’s dip into hot water after he discussed
GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s roots in a polygamous sect in
Mexico. Schweitzer was talking with the Daily Beast just days before
his New York City getaway.
“I am not alleging by any stretch that Romney is a polygamist and
approves of (the) polygamy lifestyle, but his father was born into (a)
polygamy commune in Mexico,” Schweitzer said.
Schweitzer then sought to add fuel to the so-called
Republican War on Women. He commented that women are generally
uncomfortable with polygamy, and that Romney is a byproduct of the
practice.

The governor never walked back his remarks, instead
doubling down in a subsequent interview with CNNs Anderson Cooper.